“We're one of the teams that dominates the paint night in and night out, we have a physical force in Zion... It just seems like we're not getting those calls.” - Willie Green on the Lakers taking 14 more free throws than NOLA (@PelsFilmRoom)
Willie Green after losing against the Lakers: "We fell short in the end"
NBAWednesday, 17 April 2024 at 05:33
The New Orleans Pelicans hosted tonight the first of this season's play-in tournament. Their rivals were the Los Angeles Lakers, who already defeated them last Sunday. LeBron James' squad prevailed against New Orleans despite Zion Williamson's efforts.
Both the Lakers and the Pelicans went at it at full force tonight, aiming to get a victory to advance to the first round of the NBA Playoffs. LA controlled the game, however New Orleans was able to start a comeback in the middle of the third quarter to tie the game in the fourth period.
Zion Williamson was a beast tonight as he registered a season-high 40 points. Unfortunately, Williamson couldn't finish the game for the Pelicans due to a left leg injury.
After the game, coach Willie Green shared his insights about Zion's game:
"It was tough to see him go down. We're all praying and hoping he's ok. He was battling, he was going, and the team was right there with him. It was tough, we'll see what happens and we'll go from there."
Brandon Ingram looked diminished tonight, finishing with 11 points in 33% from the field. He didn't play a single in the last quarter of the game. When asked about the reasons, coach Green explained:
"I just liked the group that was on the floor at the time. BI is still getting back, he still has to find his rhythm, so I didn't wanna to force an issue. I liked the group that was going, they had some mommentum going there."
"It's a tough loss. We're all gonna feel this tonight, but we're all proud of our group and how they fight. They battled to the end. We made our adjustments, we responded in the right way, we just came up short."
In the end, the Pelicans head coach had some words about the game's officiating and the foul calls for New Orleans:
"We're one of the teams that dominates the paint night in and night out, we have a physical force in Zion... It just seems like we're not getting those calls."
New Orleans has one more chance to get into those coveted playoffs, as they'll be playing to decide their future once again at home, against the winner of the Warriors vs Kings clash.
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